Jewish ancestors and direction of my life
Question
Shalom dear Rabbi, my question is: is someone living today, who was born into Christianity, lived his life as an Agnostic, and later discovers that his mother has a direct ancestry line to King David, considered to be Jewish or not? Would it make a difference if that person living today - for reasons unknown to him - became circumcised in adulthood and felt newborn thereafter, learnt more or less fluent Hebrew just out of an internal drive, and felt deeply touched and connected when visiting Yerushalaim? Thank you so much.
Answer
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Shalom!
Thank you for your question.
Although it is very unlikely that you have documentation that you descend from King David, even if you did, it would not necessarily make you Jewish.
Only one whose mother is Jewish, is also Jewish. One whose mother is not Jewish, is not Jewish even if the father is Jewish.
Judaism believes that God loves all mankind. One does not need to become Jewish to go to heaven. All that God wants from the Non-Jewish world is that they observe 7 precepts, or commandments. They are known as the “Noahide Laws.” They are called “Noahide Laws” because the requirement to observe these seven laws was given Noah, a righteous non-Jew (yes, the fellow from the story with the flood).
The 7 laws are:
1. Don’t murder.
2. Don’t steal.
3. Don’t worship false gods.
4. Don’t be sexually immoral.
5. Don’t eat a limb from an animal that is still alive.
6. Don’t curse God.
7. Establish a system of justice.
Any human being who observes these laws goes to heaven. There is no need to follow any other religion. You can pray to God in your own words and your own language.
Allow me to recommend the following sites to learn more about what G-d expects from Gentiles: https://sukkatshalom-bneinoach.com/ and https://www.netivonline.org/ which specializes in helping non-Jews with religious beliefs. There is a wealth of information there that you will find useful and inspiring. It is also worth looking up the “Noahide” or "B'nai Noach" movement and consider joining them!